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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142502">tells me she's mine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/crashing_meteors/pseuds/crashing_meteors'>crashing_meteors</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Family Issues, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Meet-Cute, Surfing, Swearing, Yue (Avatar) Lives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:55:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,542</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/crashing_meteors/pseuds/crashing_meteors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being invited to the surfing competition at the Oasis is practically a dream for Katara, whose been trying to break into the big leagues for years now. Her plans to train vigorously on the island during the week leading up to the competition are harder to live up to, however, when she meets local girl Yue. Gentle and mysterious in the most distracting way, Katara finds the island has a lot more to offer than a few good waves.</p><p>-</p><p>Otherwise known as the inevitable yuetara surfer au.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Yue (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MMEU Winter Solstice Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>tells me she's mine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/reignofsummerstars/gifts">reignofsummerstars</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The thing is, her mom always loved surfing.</p><p>They’d all go down to the beach, her dad picking her up under one arm, and then Sokka under the other when he’d complain about wanting to fly too. Mom would somehow carry the surfboard and boogie boards and cooler and towels - and no one ever questioned how. Dad would try to help her, of course, but she’d refuse, noting her enormous muscles.</p><p>And then she and Sokka would take turns riding the waves with Mom, playing in the water until the sun had rendered them bone-tired, and Dad would wrap them in their towels, and they’d sit watching the sky turn from pink to purple to dark blue while they ate their sandwiches.</p><p>When their mom died, Sokka avoided surfing like the plague. He’d never say so, of course, but he’d always have some excuse not to. It took him a whole year just to swim in the ocean again.</p><p>For Katara, though, the ocean is just about the only place she doesn’t feel like she’s drowning.</p><p>Ironically, it’s the fifth time today she’s almost drowned. That’s what Sokka’s been saying, anyway. She stopped listening to him after the third wipeout.</p><p>“I don’t get what you’re trying to prove!” he shouts over the crash of the waves as Katara re-braids her hair, ringing out the saltwater in the process. There's a storm on the way, dangerous weather for even the strongest of swimmers. It doesn't stop her.</p><p>“I’m not trying to prove anything,” she shouts back. “The Oasis has the heaviest waves in the world, Sokka. I have to be ready.”</p><p>“You don’t have to do anything!” Sokka says, throwing his hands up in frustration, and the wind howls so loudly it's practically whistling. “No one’s making you do this-“</p><p>“Just say you don’t support me and go.”</p><p>The comment cuts Sokka off mid-rant, and she can see she’s hurt him, but it’s exhausting to be constantly told you can’t do something. She earned her place in the competition fair and square - it’d be nice if her brother acted like he cared.</p><p>“I’ll always support you,” he says quietly. The conversation could easily veer into argument territory, but Katara doesn’t let it - she secures her braid and runs back out to the water, ignoring the graying sky and banishing the look on Sokka’s face from her mind.</p><p>She leaves for the Oasis in a week The competition is in two. No distractions.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>“Remember to breathe - panic can get you killed out there.”</p><p>“What will I do without your cheerful reminders?” Katara says sarcastically, and Gran-Gran smiles, hugging her tightly.</p><p>“You’ll come back laden with medals, I know,” says the matriarch fondly. “Your mother would be so proud of all you’ve accomplished. She taught you well.”</p><p>Katara can’t help it - the tears fall freely. Gran-Gran is gentle as she wipes them away with warm hands. For the barest of moments, Katara just wants to melt into her grandmother’s arms, wants to be a little girl again, and hide away where it’s safe. As always, though, she imagines what her mother would do in her place, and she stands a little straighter.</p><p>“You ready?” Sokka asks from the doorframe, duffel bag slung over his shoulder.</p><p>“You don’t have to carry my stuff, Sokka.”</p><p>“I’m not - this is mine.”</p><p>Katara’s jaw drops, and Sokka rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning.</p><p>“This is the biggest competition of your life - you think I'm gonna make you do it alone?"</p><p>"Oh, you jerk!" Katara says tearfully, delivering the insult with affection that only a sibling could achieve. She runs over to him and hugs him tight, and he returns the embrace one-handed.</p><p>"Get your crap, we're gonna be late," Sokka says warmly, shoving her towards her bedroom. She knows this is as good a time as any to apologize for the things she said at the beach, but then they're blasting music on the ride to the airport. And when they're unloading the car, there's a moment where she could mutter an "I'm sorry", but they have to rush to get through security, and when they finally find their seats Sokka's asleep before they even take off.</p><p>So, she doesn't apologize, and they don't talk about it, par for the course. When the plane lands, Katara puts the thought out of her mind entirely.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>The boat ride to the island is...awkward, to say the least.</p><p>The ship is filled to the brim with tourists - eager for the competition, no doubt. The Oasis Showcase is at the end of the week, but there are trick shows and other smaller competitions lined up before that. Katara's only here so early to check out the competition. An older man, upon noticing her board, struck up a conversation. Just, well, it had been with the wrong sibling.</p><p>"That's a well-made board," the man had said and there was something to his voice that set Katara's teeth on edge. "Where'd you get it?"</p><p>"Oh, um," Sokka had stuttered, but Katara was quick to answer.</p><p>"It was handmade - a gift from my stepfather." The man's barely-there smile turned into a sneer when Katara took the board from her brother.</p><p>"Hope it stands up to the surf, here," the man said unkindly. "Even the biggest small-town waves are ankle busters compared to the Oasis."</p><p>It turns out he was right, as much as Katara loathes to admit it. The Oasis is like paradise - its brochure had boasted hot springs at its center, lush greenery and trickling streams, and some of the gnarliest waves known to man. Lo and behold, when Sokka and Katara arrive on the beach, people are wiping out left and right - and getting laughed at when they do.</p><p>"Tough crowd," Sokka mutters, rubbing the back of his neck as he watches a group of particularly boisterous boys imitating another surfer crashing to the water below.</p><p>"Forget them," Katara says with more confidence than she feels, choosing to ignore the hecklers. "I need wax. Rumor has it they make it special here to handle the waves."</p><p>"That's probably just a scam to get you to spend more money!" Sokka hisses. Katara shrugs.</p><p>"Either way, it's good to be friendly with the locals. Maybe I'll catch some tips."</p><p>"Maybe," Sokka says, but he doesn't sound too convinced. "I'm gonna get a spot on the beach. Away from...literally everyone else."</p><p>The local surf shop is a family-run business and has been for generations. The owner, Arnook, hosts the Oasis Showcase every year. Katara's done her research thoroughly - so his daughter isn't much of a surprise. What is a surprise, is that she's working the register during the biggest surfing competition the island has to offer.</p><p>"Welcome," the girl says in a soft voice, but Katara still manages to hear her over the radio blasting beach tunes. She's organizing a few kitschy souvenirs on the counter - stuffed turtles in oversized sunglasses, that kind of thing. It's a tourist trap kind of shop, for the most part, but their surf section is the real deal. Katara doesn't doubt the girl knows the ins and the outs of the island - hopefully she'll be willing to share.</p><p>"Yue," Katara says, reading the girl's nametag and placing the jars of wax on the counter. "Nice to meet you."</p><p>"You as well," says Yue politely, steadfastly avoiding Katara's eyes. Great. A secretive local.</p><p>"I'm sorry you're stuck inside," Katara says, and she means it - even if she knows the beach well, it's not fair that Yue can't practice with everyone else.</p><p>"Oh! It's fine, really," Yue mumbles, and Katara notes that she has to reset the cash register after typing in the product wrong. "I, um, I can watch from here."</p><p>"It's not the same," Katara pushes, looking around for other employees, but Yue's alone. Surely Arnook wouldn't deprive his daughter of this valuable surf time? It's mid-afternoon, Katara's mad at how late she got here, but even she has the sun for a few more hours at least.</p><p>"I'm not competing," Yue says in almost a whisper, and, uh, yeah, Katara's an idiot.</p><p>"Oh," is all she manages to say. Yue offers her a small, awkward smile, and hands her the wax.</p><p>Great start to getting to know the locals, Katara.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>She doesn't see a whole lot of Yue for the next couple of days, which is fine, really, because Katara's cheeks burn in embarrassment at just the memory of their awkward conversation. Sokka chats amicably with Yue and accuses Katara of just being intimidated by a pretty girl.</p><p>"I am not," Katara says fiercely. "Besides, I don't even have the time to think about girls - Sokka stop rolling your eyes!"</p><p>It's totally fine because they don't have much need for the surf shop, anyway. Sokka spends most of his time lounging on the beach and is, as always, good at entertaining himself. Every time Katara looks over he's molding a sandcastle or reading a book or taking a nap. When he gets too lonely he just calls Suki and talks in detail about the newest fruity cocktail he's drinking.</p><p>Katara, for her part, spends the whole day in the water. She's left alone, for the most part - it's a relief to be riding the waves again because it reminds her how good she is at this. She watches as seasoned veterans get knocked down by waves half the size of the ones she can take with ease, and the beach bums poking fun at the competitors leave her alone.</p><p>For the most part, anyway.</p><p>She's in her element, riding the top of a smaller wave when another one begins to crest just in front of her - and there it is, she's sure, the beginning of a barrel. Katara pumps down the line, all her energy focused on the tube forming in front of her. A whooping cheer comes from the crowd on the beach and she charges - when there's a wolf whistle from somewhere behind her.</p><p>It shouldn't be enough to break her concentration - hell, she doesn't even know how she heard the guy over the roar of the ocean, but she turns back and spots some puka shell asshole leering at her. The line shifts and Katara isn't ready - she hits the water, hard. Just as she swims back to the surface, the wave hits her like a speeding train, sending her careening downward again. For a few, infinite seconds, Katara tumbles through the water, somersaulting against her will, knocking against sharp coral, her leg being jerked harshly around by the leash wrapped around her ankle. She reaches in the direction that feels like up during the briefest of lulls and manages to haul herself back onto her board.</p><p>Coughing and spluttering, she manages not to throw up saltwater - only to be driven to nausea again at the sound of uproarious laughter. It seems like everyone on the beach is laughing at her - everyone, except for her furious big brother and the pretty surf shop girl.</p><p>Honestly, it'd have been better if she'd just drowned.</p><p>Furiously, Katara paddles back to shore, marching over towards Sokka with the sole intent of catching her breath before informing him that no, despite what he might think is best, she will not stop surfing for the day.</p><p>"I know what you're going to say, and don't bother," Katara tells Sokka, who's watching her with a dark expression. "I was fine until that asshole - ugh, Sokka, he catcalled me! On a surfboard!"</p><p>"I know," Sokka mutters, and Katara realizes with a start that his anger isn't directed towards her, but towards the shadow behind her.</p><p>"Sorry you didn't get to see me barrel," says someone behind her, and when Katara turns, there's a smug boy she recognizes as one of the hecklers, and, worse still, as the wolf whistler. "Guess you were too busy going for a swim."</p><p>Katara's hand curls into a fist, something bruising forming on her tongue, but Sokka steps in front of her.</p><p>"At least she doesn't look like a dying seal out there," Sokka snarls. "I saw you on the water, dick-dragging half the time -"</p><p>The boy shoves Sokka, and Sokka shoves back, harder and meaner. Katara prepares herself for the beginnings of a brawl when-</p><p>"Hahn!" comes a familiar, gentle voice, but it carries urgency. Everyone whips around to find Yue, and, a little ways off, Arnook, rushing towards the crowd.</p><p>"Hey, princess," the boy, Hahn, says nervously, and Katara feels her eyes roll back into her skull.</p><p>"My father made some changes to the competition schedule," Yue tells the crowd at large, meeker than before but standing tall. "I thought you'd all want to know."</p><p>The man in question approaches the group and eyes Hahn and Sokka suspiciously.</p><p>"I can't imagine you'd want to cause trouble, Hahn," Arnook says, leveling the boy with a stern look. "Starting fights will get you kicked out of the showcase, you know that. But if you're done acting like children, here's what you need to know for the coming week..."</p><p>Katara listens as keenly as she can, but between the glares Hahn and Sokka are exchanging and the way Yue's light purple dress flutters in the breeze, it's hard to concentrate on much at all. Fortunately, she hears the tail-end of the speech - all the adjustments will be posted at the surf shop. Arnook reminds them again what the consequences of fighting will be, and then tells the group to break up.</p><p>"If it's all being posted why waste the time telling us in person?" Sokka mutters, rolling up their towels. Katara almost stops him before glancing up at the sky - the sun has all but set over the horizon. The surfing day is up.</p><p>"Maybe someone asked him to," Katara muses, looking back at the surf shop as Yue reenters it. "I'm gonna check something out - oh, and Sokka?"</p><p>"Yeah?" he grumbles.</p><p>"Thanks for having my back." Sokka shrugs, because that's what they do, after all, and protests when Katara reaches out to ruffle his hair, but he trudges off a little less heavily.</p><p>When Katara reaches the shop, Yue's already closing up.</p><p>"Thanks for that," Katara tells her, and Yue visibly jumps, fumbling the shop's keys as she does so. Immediately feeling guilty, Katara leans down to hand Yue the keys, but she's already on the ground grabbing them, and Katara accidentally lands her hand on top of Yue's in the process. It shouldn't feel like a big deal. It isn't a big deal - and yet.</p><p>"Sorry," Katara says awkwardly, hoping that if she wills it so her fierce blush will go away. "I just - I wanted to thank you. For not ratting my brother out to your dad. I know you only asked him to update everyone to stop the fight."</p><p>"It was nothing, really," Yue says, looking every which way but at Katara. "I've known Hahn my whole life -"</p><p>"Yikes," Katara blurts out, her hand flying to her mouth before she even finishes the word. She and Yue stare at each other in surprise, but then Yue's covering her own mouth as well as she laughs.</p><p>"Yes, exactly," Yue says between giggles. Katara sighs in relief.</p><p>"How'd you even spot the fight anyway?" Katara asks, relaxing a bit. "I would've figured you'd be inside the shop."</p><p>Yue's eyes go wide as dinner plates, and Katara can't help but feel she's said something wrong. Conversations with Yue have tended to feel like walking on eggshells. The shop girl mutters something lowly, and Katara leans forward to try and hear her.</p><p>"Sorry, I didn't catch-"</p><p>"Iwaswatchingyousurf."</p><p>Oh. Okay. No big deal. Just the pretty surf shop girl who doesn't surf leaving work to watch her surf. That means nothing to her. This is a totally chill piece of information.</p><p>"You're really good," Yue continues hurriedly, eyes glued to her feet. "When you're out there - I can't remember ever seeing anyone like you. And your board, it's the perfect shade of blue, so it looks like you're practically gliding on the water."</p><p>"Thanks," Katara says shyly, shrugging for lack of anything better to do. "Still wiped out, though."</p><p>"Ugh, because of that jerk, Hahn," Yue says angrily, crossing her arms. "I saw it - you were so focused, and then he must've said something or did something, I saw the way it distracted you. That was your barrel to ride, not his."</p><p>"I shouldn't have let it get to me," Katara says, remembering the incident with a grimace. "It's not like there won't be distractions this weekend. But thank you, Yue. It means a lot, coming from you." Yue blushes at the compliment.</p><p>"Hahn's all talk, and no substance," Yue says confidently, smiling at Katara, and, wow, she is really, really pretty when she smiles. "He was just trying to throw you off. Just focus on the ride, and you'll be fine."</p><p>"Hey, why don't you come out with me tomorrow?" Katara asks, an idea forming. "You said you lived here all your life, right? I could use a few tips."</p><p>Impossibly, Yue seems to shrink in place, her face paling as she shakes her head quickly back and forth. She backs towards the shop door like a wild animal, boxed in.</p><p>"I don't think that's a good idea," Yue says in a shaky voice. "I'm not an expert - I don't even surf -"</p><p>"Hey, hey, no worries," Katara says apologetically, keeping her voice calm, trying to sooth. Instinctively she reaches out a hand to steady the nervous girl, lightly touching Yue's arm. "I'll see you around another time, okay?"</p><p>Yue sighs, relieved, the color returning to her face.</p><p>"See you around," she says, and Katara tells herself it's not a promise, no matter how much it sounds like one.</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>They bump into one another a lot more quickly than expected.</p><p>The barrel incident shouldn’t be bothering Katara this much, really. Hahn’s just an arrogant asshole and that’s all there is. But when night falls she tosses and turns and attempts to drown out Sokka’s snoring with her pillow, and can’t fall asleep for the life of her.</p><p>She slips on some boots and walks softly out into the night. The moon is full tonight, its white light pooling out in front of her, illuminating a path straight to the heart of the island. In three days, Katara hasn’t had a moment to try the hot springs, despite Sokka’s glowing review. Maybe a relaxing dip is what she needs to forget all about today’s events.</p><p>It’s only about a 20-minute walk to the warm pool, and there’s not a soul in sight when a branch cracks across the way. Katara balls her hands into fists instinctively - probably not her smartest idea, exploring the island alone in the late hours of the night, but Bato taught her a mean left hook-</p><p>“Katara?” calls Yue’s voice from across the clearing, and Katara almost trips at the sound. Hopefully, the darkness hides the way her arms pinwheel in an effort to regain her balance.</p><p>“Hey,” Katara says at last, clasping her hands behind her back and feeling strangely invasive all of a sudden. Yue tiptoes around the pool, barefoot, before coming to a stop in front of Katara.</p><p>“Here to see the hot springs?” Yue asks in amusement. Katara knows she’s standing too stiff, rooted in place like a tree, but she can’t force herself to move. There’s something different about Yue at night, almost intimidating. In the darkness, Katara can just see the girl’s mischievous grin, a word she’d never use to describe anything about Yue before right now.</p><p>“Yeah, I mean, I read about them online and...yeah.” Katara could slap herself. Yue laughs, and it’s light and tinkling, like fairy bells, and she reaches out to hold Katara’s hand.</p><p>“It’s even better in person,” she whispers, pulling them towards the bubbling water, and Katara practically floats behind her.</p><p>They’re quiet for a long time, sitting next to each other but not quite touching in the warm water. Katara thinks she’ll burst with the tension between them, so she closes her eyes and rests her head against the rock behind her, arms stretched out, fingers tracing the edges of the water. She can’t exactly figure out how it came to this: her and the gorgeous local stripped down to their bathing suits, alone, sharing a dip in moonlight, but she’s also not complaining.</p><p>“There’s a volcano underneath us, you know,” Yue says, sounding somehow right next to Katara’s ear and also in a far off dreamland. “That’s how we have these springs.”</p><p>“Think if we swim down we could reach it?” Katara asks her, and it feels bold, crazy, even. Maybe they could swim below the surface, reach the furthest depths of the ocean and find the volcanic fissure below. Maybe they could stay there. Yue shifts awkwardly beside her.</p><p>“I can barely be here without panicking,” says Yue, and when Katara opens her eyes, the girl is looking up at the night sky. “I don’t think I’d be much of a diver.”</p><p>“You don’t like the water?” Katara asks gently, and Yue looks back at her. The moon shines down, a shimmery silver glow adorning Yue’s hair, and Katara can see her eyes are sad. Yue sighs heavily.</p><p>“I loved it,” she murmurs, mimicking Katara and skating the water with her fingers. “My mom - she used to take me swimming all the time. We’d go snorkeling, and she had this journal - we’d come home and she’d sketch the coral and the fish and the seaweed. Then she’d pull out our big encyclopedia, and she’d tell me the names of everything we’d seen.”</p><p>Katara doesn’t say anything - she doesn’t know how Arnook’s wife died, only that she passed years ago when Yue was still a child. She does know, however, what it’s like to lose a mother. So she lets the babble of the springs fill the silence that drapes over them, and it doesn’t feel like an empty space. It feels like a gear waiting to click into place.</p><p>“We were out fishing, like always. It wasn’t even a bad storm, we were heading back to the docks. But it was choppy, and she...” Yue speaks in a rush and then cuts herself off all at once. Katara isn’t sure, but she thinks there are tears streaming down Yue’s face.</p><p>“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. I don’t talk about this.”</p><p>Katara reaches over and holds the hand that hasn’t stopped shaking for several minutes now. Yue looks down in surprise. She gives Katara a watery smile. Katara waits, patiently, for Yue to speak again, stroking the back of her hand with her thumb.</p><p>“I saw you out there and I wanted to be in the water, too,” Yue says, very, very, quietly. “I haven’t felt that way in years.”</p><p>“When my mom died,” Katara says after a long while, continuing her minstrations on Yue's soft skin. “I practically lived in the water. She got sick, and she couldn’t swim for months...I didn’t want to remember her that way. I couldn’t remember her that way.”</p><p>Yue, graciously, grants Katara the same silence she was afforded, even as Katara’s voice wavers.</p><p>“Sokka wouldn’t even go near it and I was so mad at him. I thought he was trying to forget her. I thought he was abandoning her.” Katara takes a long shaky breath. “But he wasn’t. It was just so painful for him. The beach made us happy and then it didn’t. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t feel right.”</p><p>“I still feel like I’m trying to forget her, sometimes,” Yue admits. “Part of it's fear, but...it’s just easier, not thinking about her. I’m so ashamed.”</p><p>“Sokka says that he doesn’t even know if I really like surfing, or if I just do it because I feel like I have to. I used to think he was crazy.” Katara squeezes Yue’s hand. “Now I don’t even know. Everyone grieves differently. There’s no perfect way to do it. You love your mom, Yue. That’s all you can do.”</p><p>Yue offers Katara another watery smile and flexes her hand, intertwining their fingers. </p><p>"Listen for the barrels," Yue whispers, leaning in so that she's speaking directly into Katara's ear. "The ocean roars - it sounds like thunder. Listen for that, and you'll know they're coming long before anyone else."</p><p>"Even before Hahn?" Katara asks, lowering her voice conspiratorily, melting under the tickle of Yue's breath.</p><p>"Even before Hahn."</p><p>It's not until they're dried off and making their way back to the town that Yue stops short.</p><p>"What is it?" Katara says.</p><p>"If you're not sure that you even like surfing, why do you keep doing it?" Yue asks her. Katara grins.</p><p>"Because I'm fucking amazing at it."</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>-</p><p>They're a trio, then, her, Sokka, and Yue. Sokka offers, mostly jokingly, to cover some of her shifts at the shop so that Yue doesn't have to strain to watch her girlfriend surf. Katara smacks him, but she does note that Yue never denies the claim, even if he rejects his offer. Sokka spends more and more time at the shop, and by Friday he's got so many trinkets his beach spot is beginning to look like a village for animals in tack clothes.</p><p>"Polar bears deserve vacations, too, you know," he says happily, taking pictures of his latest chotchky - a polar bear in a tropical shirt - to send to Suki. Katara nudges Yue.</p><p>"I hope you're not swindling my brother," she whispers, and Yue gasps dramatically.</p><p>"I would never!" Yue says in a mock-offended voice. "Why, he simply talks himself into it!"</p><p>"That I can believe," Katara agrees sarcastically as Sokka takes a selfie with the cheap stuffed-animal he's named Icy.</p><p>The competition is long and exhausting - it's unlike any of the local events that their fishing village would hold, or even the larger showcases Katara would travel for. But through skill and sheer determination, Katara manages to make it to Sunday without looking too green. She knows she can win this thing, but based on the competition, so could plenty of the people here.</p><p>Sokka cheers her on, as promised, and, to Katara's delight, so does Yue. Arnook must have gotten someone to cover her shifts (definitely not Sokka) during the showcase because she's out there on the beach every time Katara looks over, sitting right beside Sokka and hollering with him. Katara's heart flutters every time she sees Yue smiling - and maybe she does a few extra trick moves to show off.</p><p>Dawn breaks Sunday morning, and Katara is a bundle of nerves. Sokka's giving her a pep talk, but it's hard to pay attention when there are a million and one things on her mind.</p><p>"-the most important thing is that you don't let anyone get in your head - not even that asshole, I'll punch him after the competition is over if you want-"</p><p>"Sokka stop."</p><p>Sokka's mouth shuts with a click mid-rant. Katara feels bad for a second for interrupting, but her thoughts are focused all at once on the need to say something important, right now.</p><p>"Thanks for always having my back," Katara tells him, offering a small smile. "Even when - especially when it's hard for you. It means a lot to me."</p><p>Sokka blinks owlishly at her like she's said something in a foreign language. She knows he doesn't do well with emotions, so she presses onward before he can brush her off.</p><p>"And I'm sorry for how I treated you after Mom died," she says, voice cracking. "I was just so angry, but you lost her, too, and-"</p><p>Sokka pulls her into a bone-crushing hug, sniffling. Katara feels the tears fall openly as she returns the hug just as tightly, but her mind has finally stopped racing. Sokka releases her all at once but holds her at arm's length.</p><p>"We were just kids, Katara," he says, shaking her a little to emphasize the point. "And I'm always gonna have your back. You're my little sister." Katara can't help it - she hugs him again, briefly enough that he can't make a sarcastic comment about affection being annoying.</p><p>"Now go kick that dick-dragger's ass," he says, wiping his nose with his shirt sleeve. </p><p>"Ugh, Sokka, get a tissue!" she says, but they're laughing, and things feel mostly okay.</p><p>There are seven finalists in total at the showcase, and she and Hahn are the favorites to win. Katara's loathe to admit it, but he's a good surfer. He's cocky, and way too focused on the crowd's reaction, but he has genuine skill. The older man from the boat talks with him at every break, advising him with fervent whispers. Katara isn't terribly worried - she has her own secret weapon.</p><p>"Just because he knows the island doesn't mean he knows what he's doing - he rides too close to the shore so the spectators can see him," Yue explains, massaging Katara's shoulders while Sokka paces in front of them. "But that means he doesn't catch the bigger waves - don't be afraid to go further out. You might not get the crowd going, but the judges will notice, and that's what matters."</p><p>The fourth competitor is finishing up their ride - Katara's on deck.</p><p>"Knock 'em dead," Sokka says, grinning broadly at her despite how nervous he looks. She rises and they clasp hands.</p><p>"And remember what I told you about the sound of the barrel," Yue adds, giving her a brief hug.</p><p>Katara's legs are shaking when she runs out across the beach, and while she waits for the judges' okay, she's almost certain they'll give out beneath her. When she finally is allowed to sprint into the ocean, though, everything melts away as the waves crash against her ankles, then her calves, and then her board when she launches herself into a standing position. The spray mists her face, the wind tousles her braid, and her heart beats loudly in her chest, like everything in her body is screaming <i>I'm alive, I'm alive</i>.</p><p>The waves are decent enough, but Hahn's display had been incredibly impressive - she'd seen the way the judges' eyes lit up when he'd managed to land an impressive superman, wink and all. Katara knows she's got the same technical skill, and even the charisma, but she needs to be more, to do better.</p><p>She closes her eyes and listens.</p><p>Every trick lands beautifully, and even though the whole beach cheers her on, she can pick out Sokka and Yue's voices in the crowd crystal clear. It's close, though, too close to Hahn's performance, until...</p><p>She hears it before she sees it, just like Yue said: a low rumbling sound coming from the water below. It's a little ways off, but if she had to guess, it's straight ahead and to the left. Katara pumps down the line, trying to catch up to the sound, and it's no surprise when the wave begins to crest, when the barrel forms. Katara's lined up perfectly for the tube. She gets down low as the water encircles her, reaching out to glide her hand over the inside of the wave. Everything is a kaleidoscope of blue and green, and the roar of the waves is suddenly a deafening silence, broken only by the tinkling of water droplets all around her. Katara follows the curve of the wave until the end of the line, even as the tube begins to crash in on itself behind her. The exit almost seems too small and then -</p><p>And then she's through to the other side, the sunlight glistening over the water and the crowd roaring their approval. She finishes with a perfect alley-oop and then makes her graceful return to shore. She dismounts from the board, waist-deep in the water when there's suddenly a loud splashing. For a minute she thinks Hahn is back to sabotage her - actually, she kind of hopes he is, because she really, really wants to kick him in the groin, but then there's a flash of purple against brown skin.</p><p>"Yue?" she manages to ask before Yue leaps at her to pull her into a hug.</p><p>"You were amazing!" Yue cries, the waves shoving them against each other. "You were beautiful - you were incredible - you were magical!"</p><p>"You're in the water," Katara says in shock. Yue looks around, eyes wide, like she's just now realizing where she is. She grips Katara's shoulders tightly.</p><p>"Oh, um, yes, I- I didn't think this through," Yue stammers, blushing fiercely. Her eyes meet Katara's, and it might be the adrenaline or the way the water keeps jostling them, but Katara surges forward, wrapping her arms around Yue's waist and catching Yue's lips in her own, and kissing and kissing and kissing her -</p><p>"We should probably get back to the beach," Yue says giggling, pulling away, although she catches a loose piece of Katara's hair and tucks it behind her ear. Katara takes Yue's hand and guides her through the waves, and thinks to herself she could get seventh place right now and not care one bit.</p><p>(She doesn't, of course - she gets first.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some surfing terms I've recently learned! Ankle-breakers are slang for waves too small to surf. Wax is, well, wax - it's used to keep surfers from slipping off their boards. A barrel is the classic tube-shaped wave you see in surfer movies, the kind that surfers ride through the inside of. To pump down the line means to surf smoothly up and down with the motion of the waves, and tends to increase a surfer's speed. A leash is a rope that is attached to the board and then encircles the surfer's ankle, so as to keep their board from drifting away should they fall off. A superman is a move that involves "driving your surfboard down the line, going up, kicking the board, projecting it to the beach, grabbing the rail, and reconnecting before landing", and an alley-oop is a backward aerial-rotation. And, by far my favorite discovery, dick-dragging - people who spend all their time on the water lying down on their surfboard and paddling, rather than actually surfing.</p><p>For those who didn't catch - Hahn is supposed to be Yue's jerk fiance from the show, and his mentor is supposed to be Pakku. Katara's stepfather is, obviously, Bato. I was very happy to read that surfers with long hair are recommended to braid their hair or leave it down - so Katara keeping her classic braid felt right. Also, barrels are incredibly loud as they form, that's pretty common knowledge, the idea of the thunderous sound before they form was pretty much made-up - I just wanted Yue to be able to give Katara a secret about her home, just between them, similar to the Spirit Oasis. Besides, I've read that all islands have their own little quirks - why not let this be one?</p><p>This was written for the kind and ever-wonderful reignofsummerstars, and I was absolutely delighted to be able to write this yuetara surfer au for you. Ben, I hope you enjoy, and I hope I executed your idea properly.</p><p>Title from Rainbow Kitten Surprise's "All That and More (Sailboat)".</p></blockquote></div></div>
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